1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a network system in which a page of a server, in particular, a page described in a language being structured and along the specification of the HTML, can be searched and seen from a user terminal by using a Web browser.
2. Background of Related Art
A conventional server, client type network system in which a server machine is connected to a plurality of user terminals through lines is popularly used.
Various techniques used on the Internet can also be used as group ware in view of transmission of information and sharing of information.
For this reason, in accordance with popularization of the Internet, an internal network using the Internet techniques, i.e., a server-client type intranet has been developed to be practically used.
However, in a general network or the above intranet, as far as the network or the intranet is of a server-client type, data can be supplied as only the form of response depending on a request from a user terminal serving as a client, and data cannot be spontaneously supplied.
For example, in an intranet at present, a switching operation for pages (documents) provided from a server is a user terminal with initiative. More specifically, although a user terminal can browse various pages prepared for the server with the initiative, a display on the terminal cannot be controlled by the server with initiative.
For this reason, the following problem is posed. That is, when the intranet is utilized as not only an information presenting means in an office or an organization, but also a server-client type network for presenting a specific service to a user, e.g., an order system for a restaurant, the intranet cannot be used such that server spontaneously transmits a completion message to the user terminal to display it on the display when a dish ordered from the user terminal is completed.
As one means for solving the problem, a means for causing a server to transmit E-mail to a user terminal to display the contents of the E-mail is considered.
However, in this manner, in addition to a document having a hyperlink structure described in a language along the specification of the HTML or a Web browser for searching this document, an E-mail transmission/reception dedicated program and a system subordinate to the program must be set in a server and a user terminal. As a result, the following problem is posed. That is, the entire system has high cost and a complex structure, and the merits of a server-client type network system constituted by using the Internet techniques are considerably degraded.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a network system, which is constituted by using the Internet techniques, in which data can be spontaneously transmitted from a server machine to a desired user terminal.